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{{Short description|Book by Damian Thompson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Counterknowledge
| image = Counterknowledge (2008) Damian Thompson (paperback) cover.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Paperback cover
| author = [[Damian Thompson]]
| cover_artist =
| country = United Kingdom
| genre = [[Social science]]s
| publisher = [[Atlantic Books]]
| pub_date = 2008
| media_type = Hardcover and paperback
| pages = 162
| isbn = 9781843546757
| oclc = 443181072
| followed_by = [[The Fix (book)|The Fix]]
}}

'''''Counterknowledge: How We Surrendered to Conspiracy Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science and Fake History''''' is a [[polemic]] by British writer and journalist [[Damian Thompson]] which examines the dissemination and reception of [[Fringe theory|fringe theories]]. It was published on 1 January 2008 by [[Atlantic Books]] and is Thompson's third book.

== Overview ==
Thompson argues that we are experiencing a "pandemic of credulous thinking".<ref name=grayling>{{cite news|last=Grayling|first=Anthony|title=Counterknowledge by Damian Thomson|url=http://newhumanist.org.uk/1696/counterknowledge-by-damian-thomson|publisher=New Humanist|accessdate=8 June 2012}}</ref> People are increasingly surrendering the values of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] to accept a barrage of "counterknowledge", which he defines as "misinformation packaged to look like fact".<ref name=sale>{{cite news|last=Sale|first=Jonathan|title=Towers of Babel|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/feb/16/society|accessdate=16 June 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 February 2008}}</ref> This concept embodies both theories for which there is no supporting evidence, and theories against which there is already evidence that directly contradicts them. Thompson does not consider religious teachings to be counterknowledge because their claims are [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]], and are thus inherently unverifiable.<ref name=sale/>

Among the forms of counterknowledge Thompson examines are [[alternative medicine]], such as [[homeopathy]] and [[crystal therapy]]; [[pseudoscience]], such as [[creationism]]; [[pseudohistory]], such as [[Holocaust denial]];<ref name=sale/> and [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]], such as those concerning the [[9/11 conspiracy theories|September 11 attacks]]<ref name="murphy">{{cite news
| last=Murphy | first=Robert | title=Counterknowledge
| url=https://metro.co.uk/2008/01/16/counterknowledge-608387/
| publisher=[[DMG Media]] | website=metro.co.uk | date=16 January 2008 | accessdate=20 June 2019
}}
</ref> and the [[Moon landing conspiracy theories|Moon landing]].

== Reception ==
''Counterknowledge'' received a number of positive reviews. In ''[[New Humanist]]'' magazine, [[A. C. Grayling]] described ''Counterknowledge'' as an "excellent little book" which debunks sophistry with "great clarity and efficiency".<ref name=grayling/> In ''[[The Independent]]'', [[Peter Stanford]] described it as a "short and punchy book, written with passion and humour";<ref name=stanford>{{cite news|last=Stanford|first=Peter|title=Counterknowledge, By Damian Thompson|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/counterknowledge-by-damian-thompson-776047.html|accessdate=16 June 2012|newspaper=The Independent|date=31 January 2008}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'''s Jonathan Sale felt that there was not a single "dull sentence".<ref name=sale/> The book was "highly recommended as an initial source for argumentation" and a potential "antidote to the kind of thinking which he [Thompson] critiques" by ''[[The Skeptic (UK magazine)|The Skeptic]]''.<ref name=skeptic>{{cite web|title=Counterknowledge|url=http://www.skeptic.org.uk/component/content/article/449|publisher=The Skeptic|accessdate=17 June 2012|archive-date=21 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321063639/http://www.skeptic.org.uk/component/content/article/449|url-status=dead}}</ref> In ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', [[Tim Lott]] described the book as "highly enjoyable" and "well-written", but felt that Thompson did not address what he considered to be a critical issue: how to "...promote real knowledge in a world where reality is something that more and more people wish to avoid".<ref name=lott>{{cite news|last=Lott|first=Tim|title=Keep taking the alternative medicine|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/3671124/Keep-taking-the-alternative-medicine.html|accessdate=17 June 2012|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=11 February 2008}}</ref>

The book drew criticism because of its message in the context of the author's religious association—Thompson is a director of the ''[[Catholic Herald]]''. Grayling, an atheist, rejected his justification of how religion isn't counterknowledge and felt that religion should also be considered counterknowledge because it too is "controverted by the evidence of our senses";<ref name=grayling/> Sale also wrote that counterknowledge and religion may be considered indistinguishable.<ref name=sale/> In the ''[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]'', Robert Murphy viewed some of Thompson's conclusions as debatable, but felt that his anger towards those who distribute patently false information was justified.<ref name=murphy/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:2008 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books about public opinion]]

Counterknowledge - Revision history

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